June 17, 2009

'Doctor Who' Comic-Con news, plus hints about the new season of 'Torchwood'

David Tennant, who will be fresh from wrapping his final scenes as the star of BBC America's "Doctor Who," will be at San Diego Comic-Con in July, along with executive producer Russell T. Davies. It'll be Tennant's first appearance at the annual pop-culture extravaganza, which this year takes place July 23-26.

Don't fret, "Torchwood" fans -- John Barrowman, who stars as Captain Jack Harkness on that BBC America show, will be at Comic-Con as well. Davies,
who has been the head writer and chief guru on both shows, will be part
of both the "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" panels. For much more information on shows that are coming to Comic-Con, look here.

Speaking of Barrowman, I interviewed him Monday for a much longer "Torchwood" piece that will appear next month, before the July 20 debut of five-part third season of "Torchwood," which is called "Children of Earth."

I had to ask Barrowman if there is a chance that Captain Jack
and Tennant's Doctor will meet again, before Tennant's run as the Doctor is
over (the BBC is doing a total of five "Who" specials to end Tennant's
run; two of them have aired in the UK, and those two specials air on
BBC America June 27 and July 26).

Barrowman's answer: "All I
can say is, at any time, the Doctor may call upon Jack or run into
Jack. Never say never" to Tennant's Doctor seeing Jack before his time is up.

Speaking of "Children of Earth," I watched the first hour of it, and it's very good. It's a concentrated dose of everything I like about "Torchwood," which is a spinoff of "Doctor Who." It's action-packed and fast-paced, though it contains "Torchwood's" trademark wit and flirty banter.

When I told Barrowman I thought Part 1 hit the ground running and only got more intense throughout the hour, he said that, compared to the other episodes, which air on five consecutive nights, "that's only a 5 out of 10" on the intensity scale.

There's a big revelation about Captain Jack in the first episode of "Children of Earth," one that will explored in subsequent episodes of the season. "Jack has been hiding this secret for a long time," Barrowman said. The secret ties into the theme of "Children of Earth," which is "all to do with sins of the past," he said.

No decision has been made about future seasons of "Torchwood," Barrowman added, but if he were asked to play only Captain Jack for the next 10 years, he would do it.
"I love who that character is, what he stands for," said the actor.

He added that future seasons may be -- depending on what the BBC wants -- event-based, a la the five-part "Children of Earth" season. Again, I'll have more from Barrowman in piece that will appear next month.

Back to Comic-Con: At the convention, there will be a screening of the final installment of the five-part "Torchwood: Children of Earth," which runs for five nights on BBC America starting July 20, and there will also be a screening of "Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead," which debuts on BBC America July 26. (Another special, "The Next Doctor," airs on BBC America June 27).

BBC America's full press release about its Comic-Con doings, which include promotional events for "The Mighty Boosh" and "Being Human," is below.

DAVID TENNANT AND RUSSELL T DAVIES ATTENDING COMIC-CON 2009

- BBC hosts Doctor Who talent for their first ever appearance at Comic-Con -

New York, NY – June 17, 2009 – In support of BBC AMERICA’s U.S. premiere of four Doctor Who Specials, the Doctor himself, David Tennant, will appear alongside writer/executive producer Russell T Davies at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego. They will take part in a Doctor Who panel along with executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn, Sunday July 26, 10:00-11:00am PT.

David will travel to Comic-Con, fresh from the Doctor Who set, having shot his final scenes as the tenth Time Lord. He and fellow panelists will discuss the latest incarnation of television’s longest running science fiction series and take questions from the floor. There will also be exclusive sneak peeks from the upcoming specials.

Fans can visit the BBC AMERICA booth (#3629) to capture their own photograph alongside part of the Doctor Who set - as well as purchase exclusive merchandise including David Tennant figures.

Fans of BBC AMERICA’s highest rated show ever, Torchwood, which will have just completed the five-part special, Children of Earth, will get to chat with the stars and makers of the show first-hand. Just 48 hours after the last episode, the show makes a return visit to Comic-Con with a panel featuring star John Barrowman, writer/executive producer Russell T Davies, executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn, Sunday July 26, 2:15-3:45pm PT.

As part of the same panel, Sunday July 26, 2:15-3:45pm PT, catch the talent from BBC AMERICA’s most buzzed about new sci fi drama, Being Human. Creator and writer, Toby Whithouse, plus lead actors Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner, talk about the inspiration for the show and what it’s like to play three twenty-somethings with secret double-lives – as a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost. All four panelists will be signing exclusively at the BBC AMERICA booth, Saturday July 25, 3:00-4:00pm PT.

Cult comedy favorite and BAFTA-nominated, The Mighty Boosh, comes to Comic-Con for the first time to celebrate the airing of all three seasons on Adult Swim, and the BBC’s DVD release, just two days before the convention begins. Inspired by the Perrier Comedy Award-winning live comedy show, creators-stars Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, along with actors Michael Fielding, Rich Fulcher and Dave Brown, will be on stage to discuss the magical, bizarre and exciting world of The Boosh, Friday, July 24, 4:45-5:45pm. The hit UK comedy series follows crazy zookeepers Howard Moon and Vince Noir and was described by The San Jose Mercury News as “an acid-trip fantasy-comedy [that] is seriously deranged and seriously funny.”

Fans can also catch exclusive BBC AMERICA screenings during the convention with back to back episodes of Doctor Who and Torchwood. Key talent from both shows introduce the last episode of the five part series Torchwood: Children of Earth and a U.S. premiere viewing of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, the first of four specials starring David Tennant.

Underground Toys (#3949) will be selling their entire Doctor Who and Torchwood lines of toys and novelty items. In addition, this year they will once again introduce new limited edition Comic-Con action figures that have never been seen before.

BBC AMERICA Comic-Con Panel and Signing Schedule

Friday, July 24

4:45-5:45pm The Mighty Boosh: creators-stars Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding along with actors Michael Fielding, Rich Fulcher and Dave Brown will be on stage to discuss the magical, bizarre and exciting world of The Boosh, currently airing on Adult Swim and released on DVD by the BBC two days before the convention begins. The San Jose Mercury News describes the show as “an acid-trip fantasy-comedy [that] is seriously deranged and seriously funny.” Room 6A

7:30-10:00pm Torchwood/Doctor Who: Key talent from both shows introduce the last episode of the five part series Torchwood: Children of Earth and an advance viewing of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, the first of four specials starring David Tennant. Room 6A

2:15-3:45pm Being Human/Torchwood: Being Human creator Toby Whithouse and cast members Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner, are on stage to give an inside look at BBC AMERICA’s U.S. premiere sci-fi drama about the lives of three twenty-somethings and their secret double-lives – as a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost. Following that actor John Barrowman, creator/writer/executive producer Russell T Davies, executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn talk about the making of the epic five-night television event Torchwood: Children of Earth as well as take questions from the fans. Room 6BCF

Comments

Being Human is great! If you're a fan of Supernatural, you'll also love Being Human. It sounds like a slightly nutty premise (a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost share a flat together) but there are some stand out (and incredibly chilling) episodes in the (very short) first season.

The fact that DT and RTD, et al are going to be at SDCC is indeed cool news (it's DT's very first!!).... except that SDCC has been sold out for *MONTHS* - with no same-day, walk up, tickets available at all.

So noone who was not already planning to go will be able to.

None of the write-ups have mentioned this. All it does is frustrate people who immediately try to go online to buy tickets to try to go. Perhaps BBCA will do something elsewhere in the US for those who couldn't get into SDCC ?

Mo wrote:
He added that future seasons may be -- depending on what the BBC wants -- event-based, a la the five-part "Children of Earth" season. Again, I'll have more from Barrowman in piece that will appear next month.

I reply:
I suspect what the BBC wants is to cut a hell of a lot of money out of their budgets and while I'd be spewing chunks, it would be a damn sight better than what ITV has done to 'Primeval' -- which despite solid ratings was cancelled after they shot a finale with one hell of a cliff-hanger. I suspect even 'Doctor Who' is going to be expected to make do on a seriously reduced budget, and I don't think you'd find Davies or Julie Gardner complaining the show was ever lavishly over-resourced. :)

If you look on Wikipedia, Captain Jack is listed as a character for the last DT 2 stories, so his non answer is answered. Also there are some major spoilers out there in regards to the "end" and who will be in them.

Who fans and British tabloids being what they are, I'd take any "spoilers" out there with a grain of salt... and a while case of tequila. :)

B. wrote:
Being Human is great! If you're a fan of Supernatural, you'll also love Being Human. It sounds like a slightly nutty premise (a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost share a flat together) but there are some stand out (and incredibly chilling) episodes in the (very short) first season.

I reply:
Will BBC America be screening the original pilot -- its tonally a lot darker than the eventual series, and while I thought Guy Flanagan (as Mitchell the vampire) and Andrea Riseborough (as Annie, the ghost) were excellent, I believe they weren't available for the series and their roles were re-cast.

There are only 6 eps of Being Human. The first two eps are a little shaky but then I got to episode 4 and went, "Holy cow". They pack a LOT of character arc and story telling into 6 episodes and yet, it doesn't really feel rushed or as if there's 'too much' info to deal with.

Doctor Who ran on a decreased budget for what some 30 years? TW can do it simply because not all stories have to have as much CGI & offworld stuff as DW does. Unless of course they go back to the exiled timelord formula that they did after Patrick Troughton. It worked great with Pertwee so there should be no problems.

'Doctor Who' was on hiatus for almost twenty years -- but while you make a fair point that 'Who' has never exactly operated on Michael Bay/Peter Jackson sized budgets (and every penny has been stretched to breaking point), the simple reality is that the BBC is in serious financial soup. While Russell T. Davies is pretty high on those power lists the media so loves, he's been perfectly upfront that he's never assumed that a renewal for Who or Torchwood or the Sarah Jane Adventures is a done deal. British television just doesn't work like that.

Of course it doesn't. They cancel shows all over the place. That explains why a good chunk of their programming is awful reality shows just like ours. However I'd think that if anothing else, DW has an edge over the spin offs in terms of sheer numbers. The only major difference as past stated was the differences in which they all take place in. Plus shooting in HD can't be cheap. I think I'd like to see just 1 more multi-doc story. DW #5 still looks in good shape for his age, and Paul was never given a proper story.

I was disgusted with the last episode of Torchwood. What a way to crap on a great series with Children of Earth and make the hero the villain and kill everyone off. This was terrible. Torchwood was such a great show. Now it's probably gone. ugh

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